BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE ... - ideals

113
"representative" conservative organs, an action which he saw as a means
of establishing a direct link between himself and the new electorate.
Salisbury continued throughout his prime-ministership to address the
League and other political associations as a means of educating,
informing, and influencing the electorate upon which his support was
based.
While the Primrose League continued to expand throughout 1887
and 1888, in many respects 1885 remained the pivotal year in its
development.
This is demonstrated quite strikingly in the League's
membership figures.
Between 26 November 1884 and 19 April 1885 the
membership more than doubled from 5,650 to 11,366. From 19 April to 16
December 1885 the figure had increased by a factor of over eight to
93,077 or more than sixteen times that given for 26 November 1884. A
comparison of Primrose day returns for 1885 and 1886 gives a higher
yield, an increase by a factor of over twenty.58
However, their April
to March summaries fail to take sufficient account of the growth
experienced in the later months of 1885, accelerated by the November
elections.
The building up of a sufficient base by December of that
year provided a means by which a mass membership could properly be
launched.
No matter which set of statistics is employed, it remains clear
that the single most important period of growth for the League occurred
between 1885 and 1886.
While the League continued to expand its
58 Minutes of the Grand Council of the Primrose League, 26
November 1884; 16 December 1885. The Primrose League Gazette, 1
September 1899, p. 9.